Most of the health workers deputed in the local levels have not yet received monthly based remuneration from the past three months.
Permanent as well as contract-based health workers of primary health centers and health posts working under the local levels said that the local level government has not provided their remuneration stating that it lacks funds.
Aheb Nani Maiya Dahal of Mane Health Post of Okhaldhunga-Manebhanjyang rural municipality said that they did not receive remuneration after the health institutions are handed over to local levels without any prior preparation.
"The local level has not yet disbursed the remuneration to those health workers who received the amount of mid-January," Dahal told Setopati, "They say that they don't have budget. It's been five months that we have not received remuneration."
Dahal said that the local level has halted the salary allowances of those health workers who joined from mid-July.
"The permanent health workers and contract based nurses also have not received remuneration," she added.
The District Public Health Office had handed over the health institution to the local level in mid-March.
According to Nepal Health Workers' Union Chairman Ujjwal Kumar Sharma, the number of health workers who have not yet received remuneration stands at more than 30,000.
"As many as 30,000 health workers have not yet received salary allowances. So they are facing problems to arrange for their daily chores," Sharma told Setopati, "The Finance Ministry has to make arrangement for providing salary allowances to health workers deputed in local levels."
Health workers of eighth level are also delivering their services without salary.
"The health workers should be paid by the respective local level where they are mobilized which is not yet happening," he said, "We've however informed the Finance Ministry about it."
Meanwhile, they have also shown their dissatisfaction toward Finance Ministry's suggestion for disbursement of remuneration by reallocating the budget of local level based health programs which are not operating.
"Budget is insufficient not only for remuneration but also for purchasing freely distributed medicines. How can one take remuneration by reallocating the budgets of such programs meant for public services?," he questioned.
He also accused the District Public Health Office of not sending all the budget received for the programs related to health sector.
"It has been said that the District Public Health Office will be dissolved but it has not yet transfer all funds to the local level," he said, "The District Public Health Office has not yet 100 percent budget to the local level."
Chairman of Siranchowk rural municipality Raju Gurung said that although the District Public Health Office has handed over the file of office-bearers deputed in local level, the planning of health-related programs are being operated by himself.
Gurung said that he wrote to the ministry after there's lack of fund to pay the remuneration to office-bearers working in health and education sectors.
"There's no budget at all. It's very difficult to pay the office-bearers," Gurung told Setopati, "Although it was earlier said to hand over the low budget programs to local level, the offices under the district are still working. What's the use of local level when the dismissed offices are still functioning?"
Spokesperson at Finance Ministry Kishor Jung Karki has said that the salary of health workers should not be halted.
"We have no any information about the health workers are deprived of salary allowances," he said, "The disbursement of salary to health workers should not be halted."
Meanwhile, he claimed that the ministry has not yet received any information in that matter.
